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Junior Title Winner: The Journey

ipoh | December 21, 2009 | 0 Comments

The distant rumbling grew louder as the train approached. Shannon picked up her bag and made her way across the platform to board the train. She didn’t in the least mind the 3-hour journeys every weekend. Shannon walked into the now familiar coach and found her seat. Looking at her watch she realised that it would be another 15 minutes before the train departed from the station. She let her eyes wander, watching the many different people enter the coach: chatty students, serious business men, bustling families, even quite a number of senior citizens.

“Excuse me”; Shannon looked up. She moved her legs to let a young girl about her age take the seat beside her. “Studying in KL?” asked the girl in a friendly manner as she settled down. Shannon as usual just nodded a shy yes in response. “I’m Bianca, from Ipoh. Studying in KL too.” The girl continued as if hoping to start a conversation. Shannon looked over and replied “Shannon. I’m an Ipoh girl too.” “Good to visit home once in a while eh?” commented Bianca chattily. “Or are you one of those crazy ones that travel back and forth every weekend missing out on the whole KL lifestyle?” she added with a little laugh. “Well, if you put it that way I guess you could call me crazy.” said Shannon loosening up. “I just go back for ballet classes; that’s it. Beats any night life in the big city, for me anyway.” Bianca looked at her disbelievingly. “Soon you’ll realise it’s for more than that you’re making these long journeys for”, she said. Shannon looked a little confused but just smiled and remained silent. The train jerked to a sudden start. Bianca turned to Shannon and said, “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just grab forty winks”. “No problem”, said Shannon as she watched Bianca shut her eyes peacefully. The lolling motion of the train as it rambled on the creaking tracks seemed to lull her to sleep.

Glad to have some time to herself again, Shannon snuggled in her chair and gazed aimlessly around the coach at the masses of people who seemed to occupy almost every seat in this coach. Her mind wandered to the conversation between the two people seated across the aisle on her right who looked like working men in their thirties. “Oh, and this time I’ll make sure you have a taste of the famous ‘nga choy gai’”, said one enthusiastically. “I don’t mind that as long as I get the curry mee I specially came down for”, came the reply. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss it for the world either. And it’ll still be at the same cheap price we got it for the last time.” “At that price I could eat multiple bowls and not feel the damage in my wallet.” “I’m sure we’ll be planning a third trip up here maybe for the ‘tau fu fa’ before we even get on the train back.” The conversation continued on and on about how cheap and how tasty and how much variety of food there was in Ipoh. Suddenly Shannon realiz\sed how much she missed the delicious food in Ipoh that she could get at much cheaper prices there than anywhere else. “Maybe food is also part of the reason I come back to Ipoh”, she thought as she listened to the friendly argument about where to go and what to eat first.

Her train of thought was interrupted when an elderly lady bustled her way down the aisle past Shannon to the row in front of her. “Mrs. Wong!” exclaimed the lady rather loudly to the passenger seated there. “I’ve been watching you from behind for sometime.” Slightly startled by the loud exclamation, Mrs. Wong turned around, “Ah May”, she called, pleasantly surprised. “What are you doing here?” “I just visited my daughter in KL”, was the reply. “This is my grandson”, said Mrs. Wong indicating the boy next to her. “He’s coming to Ipoh for the weekend.” “Say hello to Aunty Ah May” she told him. “So you have children in KL too”, said Ah May. “I really don’t understand why these people like to live in that busy place”, she added after a pause. “Ya, I feel so locked up there. I’m always relieved to be back in Ipoh”, agreed Mrs. Wong. “Ipoh also has that sense of freedom where I can just drive round and not spend half the day lost or stuck in traffic jams”, she added. “Don’t forget the fresh and cheap groceries we get from the Ipoh market, especially the crunchy thick ‘tauge’”, said Ah May. “It must be the water in Ipoh that gives only us such delicious ‘tauge’”, said Mrs. Wong. “That’s what I heard.” “And it’s also the water that gives Ipoh girls their smooth and fair skin.” Chuckled Ah May. Shannon smiled, quite proud to be an Ipoh girl.

As she turned to the window she noticed the scenery had switched from a grey concrete jungle to a patchwork of green with a deeper green of the mountains as a backdrop. The never ending tapestry of green that seemed to go all around enthralled Shannon for the first time. She never noticed the green hills that surrounded Perak before. As she was staring out the window in wonder a familiar majestic white station came into view. Shannon snapped out of her daydream to see her family waiting at the station to pick her up for dinner and straight off to ballet lessons. As she looked at their smiles she realised they too, were a big part of her reasons to come home. This was a more insightful train ride than she expected. She got up behind Mrs. Wong and as she stepped out of the carriage she conveniently dropped her bottle of ‘KL’ water into the bin. “Maybe I should drink more water from ‘home’”. She thought with a smile.

JESSICA LEE JIUN-XIU